THE WELL-DRESSED WOMAN

This is not the book to edge Molloy's sleeper--The Woman's Dress for Success Book--off the bestseller list. Rather, it's an undistinguished, poorly organized hodgepodge of tips, anecdotes, and clichÉs, frequently trivial and occasionally all wet (""Content of speech is called elocution, or the choice of words""). Basically the advice is conservative--tailored clothes, quiet colors, select accessories, a minimum of makeup--but the chummy tone is grating and contrasts with Molloy's business-like presentation of preferences and regional variations. Lord knows (as this Hemingway writes much too often) she's been around, but the entire effort lacks pizzazz and the excessive punctuation and emphasis doesn't make her any more convincing.